Homecoming glory

'Cats find new offensive weapons in victory

San Angelo Central High School wide receiver Shea Herron dodged a tackle from an Odessa defender in the first quarter at San Angelo Stadium. The Bobcats defeated the Bronchos 20-5.

This was the type of game the Central High School offense always knew it could play.

This was the type of game the Central defense has been playing all year.

In a contest that saw the Bobcats offense score almost as many points as it had all year combined and the Bobcats defense continue to play at the highest of levels, Central downed Odessa 20-5 in a homecoming contest Friday night at San Angelo Stadium.

The Bobcat defenders have not allowed a team to score more than 10 points in any of its past four games, but the story of the night might have been the Central offense that nearly surpassed last week's total yardage against Abilene Cooper in its first drive of the game Friday.

"Offensively, everyone's wanted to see us go to another level," Central head coach Steve Heryford said. "We still have a lot of work to do, but if we can get people to defend the whole field, then we have a chance.

"We've been one-dimensional, and it's been really easy to make a game plan against us. Now people are going to have to take a hard look at where people are going to put their defenders because we can do more than one thing."

The Bobcats, who have been a mostly run-oriented team all year, showed they could throw the football Friday, passing for a season-high 124 yards, highlighted by a 45-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Castillo to Shea Herron.

"The spread, the lightning, all the no-huddle stuff we've been doing," said Herron, who had five catches for 73 yards, "we finally came out and did it."

Castillo was a threat in the air and on the ground, running for a team-high 66 yards and throwing for 89 more.

When Castillo was getting a rest on the sidelines late in the game, Central sophomore quarterback Clayton Kafer came in and showed he might be another offensive weapon for Central, as he completed three of four passes for 35 yards and ran for 46 yards in his first varsity action under center.

Kafer was also a starting end for the Central defense that limited OHS to just 187 total yards as the Bronchos (1-4) dropped their fourth straight game after blowing out Big Spring 41-6 in the season opener.

"We've just gotta get better, keep fighting," said OHS head coach Ron King, whose team opens up District 3-5A play against Cooper in two weeks.

Central, meanwhile, opens 2-5A play in two weeks at Amarillo. For the first time since 2003, the Bobcats (3-2) begin district play with a winning record.

If they continue to have outings like Friday's, winning the program's first outright district title since 1964 might be a possibility.

Step one Friday was turning around the offensive woes that had led to just 24 points scored in four games. That turnaround happened in a hurry.

Last week the Bobcats managed only 76 total yards in the entire game against Abilene Cooper.

Friday, they nearly amassed that total in their first drive of the night.

With an 11-play, 72-yard march that chewed almost five minutes off the clock, the Bobcats used a potent mix of Castillo runs and quick passes to move the ball better than at any point this season.

That drive was capped by a 5-yard touchdown run by Deon Rose.

The Bobcats again went on the offensive early in the second quarter with a 42-yard field goal by Camden Steele.

A fumble recovery by Jared Williams would short-circuit OHS' next possession.

The Bobcats would make their lead 17-0 when Castillo hit Herron with a quick sideline pass, Tyler Barron laid a monster block on a Bronchos defender, and the Central senior receiver scampered 45 yards for the touchdown.

While the Bobcats offense was having its best half of the year (190 total yards), the Central defense limited OHS to just 73 total yards before halftime.

It would have been a first-half shutout, too, had Odessa's Zach Tombosky not pounced on a Central fumble to set up a 48-yard field goal by Travis Austin, which was the third-longest field goal in school history, as time expired.

In the second half, there was decidedly less offensive action for the Bobcats, but their defense continued to stifle the Bronchos.

On Central's first possession of the third quarter, they were forced to punt, but the snap went over Austin Terry's head and into the Central end zone, where he kicked the ball out of bounds for an OHS safety.

The field goal set up by the CHS fumble and the safety were the only points Odessa scored.

"Defensively, we basically shut them out," Central defensive tackle Bo Williams said. "We haven't won a homecoming in I don't know how many years. For the community to see this, we'll have a lot of support now."

Up 17-5, Central got a little insurance when Steele hit a 21-yard field goal with 15 seconds left in the third quarter.

"There's no question we were carrying around some baggage that we might not be a very good football team," Heryford said. "I'm glad to get over that hurdle. But we still have a lot of work to do.

"This win was nice, but we have to keep improving to achieve the goals we've set for ourselves."